A Downed Princess
by ferrous
Summary: Weiss wakes up late at night after reliving a traumatizing memory. Guess who shows up to comfort her?
1. Chapter 1

Weiss woke up breathing heavily. Her blankets were in complete disarray and there was even a pillow on the floor. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand next to her bed. It read 2:26 AM in an unflinching bright green color. She lay back and stared at the underside of her partner's bunk.

She was eight again. Her father stood over her, screaming something unintelligible about the family and honor. She remembered being grabbed by the collar and thrown against a wall. What did I do wrong? Her eight-year-old body was shoved cruelly into an unfamiliar room. Before her, an Atlesian Knight. Her Myrtenaster was thrust into her hands and she was pushed towards the imposing robot. After that was a blur of action. She was beaten down mercilessly. Her blood was everywhere, but still the Knight advanced. What kind of knight beats a downed princess? She could only remember the disappointment and anger in her father's eyes, and strove to stand up, no matter how many times she fell. Despite all her determination, the Knight cornered her. It raised its gigantic sword above its head. Weiss squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, she was back in her bed.

Weiss couldn't help but remember that incident. It happened a long time ago. Her father had wanted to see how well she could wield her rapier, but after failing to harm any of the Schnee guards, he grew livid and threw her against the Atlesian Knight. He wouldn't let her out until she almost died.

Upon reliving the memory, which was still fresh in her mind, Weiss began to cry quietly into her remaining pillows. She didn't want to wake her teammates, so she curled under her blankets and tried to control her shaky breathing, but it only resulted more sobbing.

A shadow detached itself from the higher bunk and dropped down in a shower of red rose petals. Ruby dove under the covers and attached herself to the pale girl. Surprised and still shuddering, Weiss asked in a thick voice, "What … are you doing, Ruby?" Ruby responded with a fierce hug and started to stroke Weiss's hair. "Weiss, I'm here for you, no matter what. I can't say that I can relate, but at least I can listen."


	2. Chapter 2

Weiss wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. She didn't want to be seen like this by anyone, especially not her childish, immature dolt of a leader. The Schnees were always the strongest of the Atlesian nobility, needing no help from anybody else, and Weiss wasn't going to be the first.

"Ruby, I'm fine," she whispered, although the pain in her voice contradicted her words.

The brunette was having none of it, despite the other girl trying to push her away. "It's my job as team leader to make sure my teammates are completely able to fight Grimm," she insisted, cutting off any further protests. Weiss' eyes betrayed exhaustion and the need for comfort in spite of her outward actions, something Ruby understood completely.

Ruby laid them both down on the messy bed and drew up the covers. She clasped her partner close to her chest and began to speak.

"When I was a lot younger, Mom died on a mission. It was awful not knowing what had happened to her, not comprehending the concept of death as a kid. For a long time, I was in denial. Dad and Yang would try to talk to me, but I would always be pushing them away, insisting that I didn't need help and that Mom was coming back. It tore us apart. Dad stopped being the cheerful, patient dad he used to be and started retreating into work for longer and longer every day. When I asked him about it, he would always say he was working on some important research for Signal Academy."

Weiss stayed silent, although she wanted to see where Ruby was going.

Ruby continued,"Yang was forced to take care of me. One day she had enough and forced me to understand that Mom was really gone and wasn't coming back. It really broke me for a while. Believe it or not, I stopped being the hyperactive, cookie-craving kid for a few years. Even now, that part of me still isn't back in full force.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, bad memories are going to be a part of life forever. They aren't going away. But it does help having someone else to vent to, even if it ends up a little embarrassingly. You don't have to tell me now or tomorrow or even this year, but if you can, let me listen."

Hearing no response, Ruby sighed and began to softly sing the lullabies her mother sang to her so many years ago. It was surprisingly pleasant, on par with many of the professional singers Weiss had heard over the course of her lifetime.

Weiss ventured a small "Ruby?"

Ruby stopped singing and smiled. "Yeah?"

"Thank you."


End file.
